Lights Out

2016

Action / Horror / Thriller

Synopsis

A man called Paul is working after hours and is murdered by a supernatural entity in the shadow. When his son, the boy Martin, is frightened by the same creature, he sees his mother Sophie talking to an imaginary friend called Diana in the shadow of her room. Martin does not sleep anymore during the night. His older step sister Rebecca who lives alone is summoned by the social assistant. She brings Martin home and recalls her own experience with Diana years ago when she was young. Rebecca and her boyfriend Bret investigate the connection of Sophie with Diana and come up to a scary revelation about their past.

A man called Paul is working after hours and is murdered by a supernatural entity in the shadow. When his son, the boy Martin, is frightened by the same creature, he sees his mother Sophie talking to an imaginary friend called Diana in the shadow of her room. Martin does not sleep anymore during the night. His older step sister Rebecca who lives alone is summoned by the social assistant. She brings Martin home and recalls her own experience with Diana years ago when she was young. Rebecca and her boyfriend Bret investigate the connection of Sophie with Diana and come up to a scary revelation about their past.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by eric2620037 / 10

The Dark Really Can Be a Scary Place

When we were young, it was normal that we were afraid of things that go bump in the night, or that monsters were hiding under the bed or in the closet and that going to bed at night seemed labourious not to mention frightful. As we get older we adult up and try to overcome our fears and manifestations and expunge all that nonsense. But in reality, the dark isn't the scary things, but the things that come when only it is dark. The slightest house settling noise can send chills down your spine. And if that doesn't make one hide under the covers, how about a freaky, wiry-haired silhouette gazing down at you from a nearby doorway? And once you turn the lights on, it disappears.

This aforementioned spook is the terror is the topic from the directing debut of David F. Sandberg 2016 horror film "Lights Out". The creepy figure fueling nightmares galore is an evil demonic spirit of Diana who was a longtime friend of a mentally unstable mother named Sophie (Maria Bello) who was killed when a medical experiment went awry and that the exposure to the light took her life away. Thirty years later, Sophie has been in contact with her and seems to materialize when it's dark, but once you turn on the lights, the vanishes. Diana was the only childhood friend of Sophie's and Diana will likely attack if her personal existence feels threatened and will dish out destruction with no mercy or remorse. Although she is a powerful force to be reckoned with, she still has a sensitivity towards light and the only way to avoid her vengeance is to stay out of the shadows.

Sophie was once wed to someone who left her several years ago and has two off-springs. She has an adult daughter named Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) who has left her troubled way and has moved into a one bedroom apartment with her boyfriend Bret (Alexander DiPersia) and a preteen son named Martin (Gabriel Bateman) who unfortunately has to face the wrath of his mother's insanity. Everything that Rebecca encountered when she was young, Martin is now facing the the same consequences. When Martin tells Rebecca that Sophie is conversing to a spirit, Rebecca send Martin to move into their place to keep him safe from any possible evil lurking in that house. But then social-services chimes in and disapproves of the idea, so then Rebecca returns back to their home and confront this evil presence that's terrorized her when she was small.

Originally based off of Sandberg's short film, the material has successfully been expanded to the 81 minute mark. Though considered short by movie standards, it's actually the contrast that leads to the archaic philosophical statement of "less means more" and that saying never comes truer than this movie. It goes straight on with the story and doesn't go back on its delivery and doesn't cut corners in any way possible to expose out all its fear to leave even strong people emotionally scarred. The first scenes are chilling and stays its way throughout and no cliche is padded on, even the flashback of Sophie's childhood memory with Diana has an effective moment where you can feel a bit of sympathy and remorse for both Sophie and Diane. It is also a breath of fresh air to make our leading heroine like Rebecca as a strong, independent character, which happens quite frequently, but Palmer does a serviceable job of indicating what it means to be when dealing with being raised in a broken family.

Although a film of this genre and situations has been done to death, "Lights Out" is also guarded with a PG-13 banter which means there will be jump-scares a plenty, but the movie is still a cut above the other horror films with its effective use of lighting and the dankness keeps the story alive while you're heart is palpitating while the scenarios succeeds to make things all the more unsettling.

Reviewed by billcr123 / 10

Waste of Time

I will first admit to not liking ghost stories of any kind, so if you do, maybe this is for you. A woman who has spent time in a nut house has recurring visits from a ghost who was a previous tenant of the crazy house. We get a husband, a son and a daughter. The daughter attempts to care for her younger brother, as mom is pretty much out to lunch. A family custody struggle ensues, and, of course some bad things happen to all involved. Lights out is neither scary or entertaining in any way. Do your self a favor and avoid this snooze fest and watch a few episodes of the Twilight Zone instead.